Carnival cruise cheaper than a stay at Motel 6

For a brief time, the beleaguered Carnival Cruise line was offering potential passengers a four-night trip on its Imagination ship originating from Miami for $149 per person (for two travelers).

As Bloomberg News pointed out, that came out to around $38 per night (plus fees and taxes), which was less than the cost of a room at Motel 6 (that'll run you $40 per night or more depending on location).

Note: Since the blog was originally written, the price of the April cruise has risen: An interior room now runs $179, plus fees and taxes.

Nothing against Motel 6—they do leave the light on for you—but we doubt Carnival wants people to think of its vacation experiences as being on par with a four-night stay at the discount chain.

It's been a rough time for Carnival. Earlier this year, the Triumph lost power while at sea, leaving many frustrated customers to tweet and post videos of the ship's most nontriumphant conditions (toilets not working, food running low, air conditioning on the fritz). When the ship finally docked, passengers boarded buses to go to hotels. One charter bus broke down.

Just last week, the Triumph broke free of its moorings while it was being repaired off the coast of Alabama. And late last year, tragedy struck when the Costa Concordia (owned by Carnival) tipped over off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people.